Transfer Centre

Claudio Ranieri hopeful of Leonardo Ulloa stay

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 20 January 2017

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri insists that the club are determined to keep Leonardo Ulloa this month, despite the striker handing in a transfer request.

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has insisted that he does not want to lose striker Leonardo Ulloa during the January transfer window.

Ulloa handed in a transfer request earlier this week due to his lack of game time, with the Argentine having made just one Premier League start during Leicester's defence of their crown this season.

Spanish side Alaves are understood to be interested, but Leicester are yet to receive a satisfactory offer and Ranieri is determined to keep the 30-year-old.

"Always I said I don't want to keep players who are not happy but at the top there is the club. Three of us have to be happy, club, me and the player. I like Leo because he is a fantastic professional, a good player. I told him my impression. Now they are speaking and I think at the end he will stay with us. I want him," he told reporters.

"He's a striker, I only have so many strikers. There is only [Islam] Slimani to hold the ball up and I need two strikers who are very similar. I can understand, of course, because until two years ago he was used to playing every match.

"Two years ago he was the goalscorer of the team. Last season I started with Shinji [Okazaki] and [Jamie] Vardy because he was a little late on the fitness and they made something special."

Ulloa is currently sidelined with a thigh injury that will keep him out of Leicester's trip to face Southampton on Sunday.